Sticks and Stones
by Human Customs Still Elude Me
Summary: Diamonds can control Gems every move, every word, every thought. The Crystal Gems are no exception.
1. Never Look Back

Pearl was terrified.

She loved seeing her Diamond so happy. She loved being free to explore Earth, to defend the organics that lived there. She thought starting a rebellion, driving Homeworld from this system would be the perfect solution to the oncoming catastrophe.

Now she was standing in a palanquin she no longer felt safe in, holding a sword too large for her, about to end a war that had gone on for centuries.

"I never want to look back."

Pink Diamond's hands placed Pearls over her mouth. She didn't resist. She couldn't. She was just a Pearl. A servant, a pretty toy on the heels of a tyrant.

She did what she had to. She shattered Pink Diamond. She never looked back.

How could she? She was just a Pearl.

—

The white light faded. Rose's shield faded from existence as they realized what had happened. Gems littered the ground, both broken and whole. Pearl's friends, comrades...gone.

Ruby and Sapphire hit the ground with a dull thud. Rose stared at the sky in silent horror as ice covered the ground, casting a grim blue light on the faces of the four survivors.

Pearl ran.

Far and fast. She had to get away. If she had run away, far away, from Pink Diamond, from Rose Quartz, this never would've happened. Who else would have aided her? Who would have shown her the Earth?

For the first time, Pearl started to regret her decision.

—

Pearl was quiet, and Garnet was concerned. Despite the excitement of the temple, the artistic opportunities of the statue, Pearl remained silent. Stoic. Closed off.

"You can talk to me, Pearl."

She shook her head. "No."

"Pearl-"

She covered her mouth and shook her head.

Garnet didn't quite understand for millennia.

—

"Pearl... Did you shatter Pink Diamond?"

Panic hit her. What was she supposed to say? 'Yes Steven, I shattered Pink Diamond and I'm letting the Diamonds target you instead!' How could she possibly explain the thousands of years of silence she had endured when she couldn't even tell him who he was? Whose legacy he had inherited?

"I..."

—

"Where's Steven?"

To be honest, she was surprised Amethyst had noticed so quickly. She knew it was harsh, but Quartz soldiers aren't exactly perceptive.

"He's finding my...phone. In my gem," she said. "To put the case on it!"

Garnet seemed dubious, but Amethyst accepted it. "Well geez P, how'd you lose something in your own brain?"

"It...happens. Sometimes."

She shrugged. "Whatever. Hey, what if he finds out an embarrassing secret?"

"Amethyst!" Pearl exclaimed. They quickly fell into the familiar cycle of bickering as Garnet stared on in bemusement.

-

"Mom was Pink Diamond."

Finally, Pearl was free.


	2. Never Question This

"I never want you to question who you are."

Rose took Garnet's hands. She told her never to question anything.

So Garnet didn't.

When Rose told her that she shattered Pink Diamond, she was torn between fear and anger. She wanted to yell, to ask her why, why, did she go against her own values?

Garnet opened her mouth to ask a question. Her hands turned over in front of her.

She was silent.

* * *

The war was over, and Garnet was frozen in place.

The light faded. Pearl ran. Rose disappeared soon after, too crushed to even comfort her few remaining soldiers. Garnet stared blankly at the field before her.

"Wh-"

She covered her mouth with her hands Light filled her vision.

Ruby and Sapphire huddled on the ground, ice spreading just as rapidly as the fire at Ruby's feet. They stayed for what felt like an eternity, waiting for someone to find them.

No one did.

* * *

"I'm pregnant!"

It took a moment for it to sink in. Pleasant smiles slowly turned to shock and fear. Pearl and Amethyst yelled, and cried, and ran away.

"Garnet."

"I'm happy for you, Rose."

Rose walked over to Garnet, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Garnet," she said, "Don't do this."

"Do what."

She sighed. "This! Acting like you're so calm all the time, like you dont question anything!" Garnet stiffened. "I'm. I don't. I don't question much," she said, hands twitching.

"I know you have something to say on all this. I want to hear it, Garnet. Really."

"I...I don't...I don't know what we'll do," she admitted, "I can't see it clearly. Being without you. It's...blurry." Rose took Garnet's hands, lifting them before her. "I want to know everything! Everything you see!"

Garnet smiled and obliged, ignoring the cold dread somewhere in her.

* * *

"Garnet?"

"Steven."

"Um..." He wrung his hands. "I was wondering why you never ask questions?"

She smiled down at the tiny eight year old. "I never need to."

* * *

"Yes, Connie, I have some time."

"Oh," she said. "Future vision?"

"Future vision."

Connie paused for a second, as if debating something. "Um...why do you never ask questions? I mean...you ask questions but theres never a question mark after them. If that makes sense."

Garnet looked up at the sky for a second. "I never need to. I know what I know, and if I need information, it will be on my terms. No one else's."

* * *

Garnet was doubting everything.

Rose was Pink Diamond. Blue and Yellow were outside, waiting for Steven. Stars, what we she supposed to do? How could she lead the Crystal Gems in the face of this?

She sat silently. She listened to Pearl patiently explaining everything to Greg and Connie. Amethyst and Steven were asleep on the couch, and Bismuth sat beside her.

Blue Diamond spoke outside. Garnet flinched.

"You okay, G?"

She took a deep breath."I'm fine," she said flatly. Bismuth didn't buy it. "You haven't said anything since we got inside, AND I've never seen you flinch like that before. Theres somethin' wrong."

She sighed heavily. "It's not me, its...me." At Bismuth's expression, she continued. "That was...Sapphire, actually. I..." she trailed off. "I'm..."

"You're scared."

Garnet's silence confirmed it. "I'm guessing, because Sapphire was in Blue Diamond's court, you're terrified of her. S'okay."

"It's not okay. None of this is okay. The Diamonds...they're destroying Gemkind. They're weeding out everyone that doesn't think like them. It's...I can't even ask questions because of them."

Bismuth stared. Garnet sighed. "Rose. She told me to never question this, that I already was the answer..."

Neither spoke a word until the sun came up.

Garnet was far from free from the Diamonds influence. But she was a lot closer.


End file.
